States Compared to International Standards

Phillips and AIR correctly argue that weak state standards serve to create a false sense of security about state educational outcomes. In most states, school outcomes are distressingly weak compared to national and international standards. In the past, the U. S. led international rankings. In recent decades, however, other countries have moved ahead despite American school reforms.

Whether these facts argue for the nationwide adoption of the Common Core, however, is another issue. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is reasonably rigorous and has for decades served as a de facto national standard. In fact, the discrepancies between state and international benchmarks found by AIR largely parallel the discrepancies between state reports and the NAEP. State policymakers only need to review this evidence to learn whether their state standards should be strengthened.

The overall finding in the study is that there is considerable variance in state performance standards, exposing a large gap in expectations between the states with the highest standards and the states with the lowest standards. Although this gap in expectations is large, many policymakers may not be aware of just how large it is.

These results help explain why the United States does poorly in international comparisons. Many states think they have high standards and are doing well, and feel no urgency to improve because almost all their students are proficient.

The lack of transparency among state performance standards leads to a kind of policy jabberwocky: the word proficiency means whatever one wants it to mean. This misleads the public, because low standards can be used to artificially rack up high numbers of “proficient” students.

This looks good for federal reporting requirements, but it denies students the opportunity to learn college and career readiness skills. If we believe almost all students are already proficient, what is the motivation to teach them higher-level skills? This may be the main reason why less than 40 percent of 12th grade students are academically prepared for college. Furthermore, over a third of students enrolled in college need remedial help. They thought that they were college ready because they passed their high school graduation test, but they were not.

Are we getting the whole story about how much our kids are learning in school?

Not long ago, I read an online letter from an angry parent. She said my kids (ages 10 and 12) are bright, they get “A”s and “B”s in most subjects, but neither of them can spell, write a correct sentence, summarize readings accurately, or organize their thoughts on paper. My 7th grader had only two English assignments this semester and they were “collaborative.”

I sent my children to the public school trusting that they would come out with the skills they need to become productive adults. Now, I worry that I made a big mistake.

I know other parents who have similar concerns. Their kids get good report cards but don’t really seem to be learning. For example, one had a son who finished high school with a “B” average but did so badly on the ACT that he had to take several remedial courses in college. Good grades reflect real learning only if a school’s standards are high. Parents assume that they are adequate but how do they know?

In truth, it’s hard for a parent to know what kind of education their child is getting because most parents aren’t experts and almost everything they know about their schools comes from the schools themselves. Not surprisingly, almost all of it is favorable. Even the educational accountability reports published by the state typically do not make it easy for users to compare and evaluate local schools. Often, they are like financial reports: useful mainly to experts.

Parents and communities need a way to learn about their schools that is independent of the perspective presented by the schools themselves. Parents and taxpayers are education’s consumers and the schools are its producers. Each has a unique set of interests.

Education Consumers Associations are a response to this need and one is now forming in our area. They are nonprofit grassroots organizations dedicated primarily to improved student learning and better preparation for college and the job market. For more information, call Jane Doe at 555-your-number or email her at jane@youremailaddress.com